


Under the Midgar Stars

by tyrannosaurus_rose



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-08
Packaged: 2020-08-11 21:50:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20160652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tyrannosaurus_rose/pseuds/tyrannosaurus_rose
Summary: Zack asks Aerith on a date, and shows her something beautiful.





	Under the Midgar Stars

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CuracaoxCure](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CuracaoxCure/gifts).

“Hey,” Zack said, turning up unexpectedly at the church one afternoon in late fall. Well, it was getting on towards the end of November, at least -- there was not much seasonal variation below the plate. The light that streamed in around the edges changed a bit, and the temperature might get a little warmer or cooler. But Aerith supposed it was technically fall, and that was good enough. 

She turned from where she was working among her flowers to smile up at him happily. It had been a few weeks, and she had missed him, so it was wonderful to see him back safe and sound and looking exactly the same as always. Zack’s missions lately had been taking him away for longer and longer stretches at a time, sending him all over the world to handle Shinra’s problems as one of the only 1st classes left. Aerith knew Zack loved his job, but she wished he could be home with her more often. Or not working for Shinra. Or both. 

“I got you these,” he went on, interrupting her own greeting to thrust a bouquet of flowers into her face, so close that she could barely even see them. “I know you already have your own, but I found them on my last mission and thought of you.” A large, hairy caterpillar wiggled its way off a stem and fell into Aerith’s lap, and she jerked back a bit in surprise as it landed. She handled a fair few bugs when she tended her flowers, but that didn’t mean she liked them. 

“Ack! Oh no, I’m sorry, here, take these,” he pushed the flowers at her again, “and I’ll get rid of that...” 

“Don’t hurt it,” she admonished, taking the bouquet. 

Zack nodded, already focused on the insect on her skirt. He crouched and picked it up very gently, and it curled up in his hand. “Uh... where should I...?” he glanced at the flowers growing through the floor, then back at Aerith. There was nothing growing outside for the caterpillar to eat, so it wouldn’t survive if he put it out there, but he obviously didn’t want to just dump an herbivorous bug in her garden. 

“It’s ok,” she said, smiling sweetly. “Everything needs to eat. And I won’t mind a butterfly.” Not that she had ever even seen one before, but they were supposed to be pretty and as far as she knew they didn’t bite or anything. 

Zack took the caterpillar over to the flowers, being extra careful not to step on any, and Aerith finally had a chance to examine the bouquet he had brought for her. It was extremely scraggly, twiggy and full of thorns and puffy white flowers that looked like they’d been treated rather carelessly on their travels. Aerith was sure even if she could harvest seeds from these flowers, they would never sell. They looked like weeds. Maybe she should ask where they were from, or if they had any special properties, but Zack probably couldn’t give her any details if he had picked them up on a mission. 

It didn’t really matter, anyway. Nothing grew in Midgar, and even if they were regular run of the mill weeds, they were weeds her boyfriend had brought back for her. Proof that he thought about her when the were apart. Aerith always tried not to feel insecure, but sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder about Zack. He had asked her out the first day they met, for goodness sake! He was so charming and outgoing, and he traveled all over the world as a SOLDIER. Everyone he met ended up liking him after almost no time at all, even the notoriously suspicious and often anti-Shinra slum residents. 

Despite his easy charm, Aerith knew Zack relied on her in some ways, since she had been there for him while he dealt with a lot of tough things in his life, and she knew he was grateful. But that could be a double-edged sword, if she ended up reminding him of all the horrible things he had weathered. So she couldn’t help but wonder if the physical distance meant she was sometimes out of sight and out of mind for him, and if maybe he didn’t welcome those long and dangerous missions  _ because _ they’d help him escape the bad reminders that had to be lurking around every corner in his life in Midgar. She didn’t think he was really avoiding  _ her, _ in particular, just... maybe sometimes she accidentally got wrapped up and hidden away with all the other stuff. 

Then again, maybe she was just overthinking it. Aside from his hectic schedule and constant general air of distraction, both of which she thought he’d had long before he met her, there was no reason for her to think he wasn’t faithful. 

“There,” he said, dusting his hands off and coming back over to her. “All settled. One future-butterfly, just for you.” He grinned. 

“Thank you, Zack,” Aerith replied, grinning back, a little twinkle in her eye. She would try to put all of that out of her mind and just focus on enjoying being with him while she could. When they were together, it never seemed possible that he could be interested in anyone else: he was always so focused on her. So she wanted to focus on him, too. “For the flowers  _ and _ the bug.” 

Zack sighed exaggeratedly. “I didn’t mean to drop a bug on you, I swear! Let me make it up to you. How about one date?” 

Aerith giggled. A date was Zack’s answer to everything, but he always made sure she had a good time. But she had agreed too easily on their first date, and since then developed a bit of a preference for watching him flounder. He was cute when he had to work for it a little. “I dunno,” she said. “You always suggest a date to make up for it when you do something weird. I think your quota might be all used up.” 

Zack, for his part, looked totally floored by her refusal. He was such an easy target! 

“Well... what can I do instead? I gotta make it up to you.” 

“How about you treat me to dinner?”

“How is that not a date?” Zack asked, giving her a suspicious look. 

“It’s a date you’re agreeing to plan and pay for,” Aerith replied shrewdly. “None of this sit-around-the-church-doing-nothing business. A serious date!” 

Zack smiled broadly, looking pleased with her solution. “That definitely sounds fair!”

She waited a beat, but he was clearly holding back, so she stepped up. “You mean...  _ Zack _ Fair?” To his credit, he had only made that joke once, but Aerith still wasn’t done teasing him about it. 

“I wasn’t gonna say it! I didn’t say it!” 

Aerith laughed. “All right, all right. Well then, where should we go?” 

“Actually, there is somewhere I’d like to take you,” Zack said, sounding surprisingly hesitant after their jesting, “but it’s a little far. Not above the plate or anything, but still a little outside your usual uh... stomping grounds.” 

“Zack, are you implying that I stomp?” Aerith asked, teasing him a little more, and kind of surprised he had asked at all instead of just charging ahead. “I’ll have you know I’m a delicate lady!” They both laughed at that. Zack had called her princess a few times early on in their relationship, and Aerith hadn’t ever been able to control her laughter. Zack was trying to be nice, but it was hard to think of herself as royalty when she lived in the slums and had the threat of Shinra literally towering over her all the time. And she was pretty and feminine, but she and Zack both knew she could hold her own. She an adventurer, not some delicate doll. “All right, you’ve caught my interest,” Aerith said. “Where’s this distant date? I’m game. Let’s go!” 

She had been expecting to do what they normally did: hang out and chat in the church, walk around Wall Market, maybe get some food if he wasn’t called away first. They weren’t expensive dates or really extraordinary, but they enjoyed each other’s company, and just finding time to be together was always meaningful in its own way. 

Half an hour later, though, Aerith was beginning to question whether she had agreed too easily after all. They were trudging around in the train graveyard, navigating around the broken old husks of trains Shinra had used and tossed aside and doing their best to avoid monsters. Frankly, Aerith hadn’t realized how big this area was. She had of course heard of the train graveyard and knew it was out here, but had never actually been, since Tseng had strictly forbidden her wandering around out here and she had never been able to slip her guard to come check it out. Not that she had tried very hard: no one else came out here much, either, with all the monsters. It was just too dangerous. 

And now it was seriously starting to feel like they had been wandering around here forever! All the trains looked the same to her, but they kept going and going. Zack clearly had a destination in mind, but where exactly was he taking her? Was this some kind of bizarre attempt to kidnap her? She had always thought it would be Tseng who took her away, but obviously he wouldn’t lead her through the train yard to do it... he seemed more like the type to drag her from her bed in the night or from the church, or take her away on one of those awful helicopters. She had considered that he might blackmail her or threaten her mom or a slum child to coerce her into coming quietly. But sending Zack to escort her through the train graveyard seemed really... farfetched. 

Well, she had never been on an adventure like this with Zack. He could rustle up all kinds of trouble much closer to home, after all. So maybe she should just trust that he knew what he was doing and wouldn’t ever hurt her. 

But seriously, all of these trains looked the same. 

“How ya holding up?” Zack called back, a little way ahead of her. 

“I’m fine...” Aerith said, not really sure if she was. “But where are we going?” 

“It’s only a little farther,” Zack replied immediately. “Another few minutes, tops. But we can go back if you’re not feeling it anymore.” 

Aerith felt ridiculous. Of course Zack wasn’t trying to kidnap her. He must have just found something out here... in the middle of nowhere... where he had no reason to be... and wanted to show her! It was perfectly normal. Zack was always climbing around on trash piles in the slums, chasing after something sparkly. It was usually garbage, but it was fun watching him get so excited about it. He was like a little kid when he came running up to show her his new find. This must be just like that: he had gone exploring and found something to show her. So she said, “No, that’s ok,” and resolved again to see it through. “Let’s keep going.” 

“Ok. The next bit requires a bit more acrobatics, though.” He thumped the side of the train he was standing next to. “Up and over. Let’s mosey!” 

Zack clambered up a ladder on the side of the train, then turned to reach a hand down to help Aerith up. At the top, she looked around nervously. She wasn’t afraid of heights or anything, but the top of the train car was really narrow and not particularly flat. In her wedges, it made for some pretty awkward footing. And... it didn’t go very far before there was an abrupt drop where the car ended. Zack trotted right along to the edge, but Aerith followed along much more cautiously. 

“We’re gonna have to jump across,” Zack said, far too cheerfully by Aerith’s estimation. She had finally caught up to him, but now that she could see clearly what she faced at the end of the train car she almost wished she hadn’t. The car was well over ten feet tall, which didn’t seem that high when she thought about it, but sure  _ looked _ like a long way to fall. She had explored the dilapidated upper sections of the church, of course, and they weren’t even as high now as the first landing on the staircase, but even sitting up there sometimes made Aerith feel a little woozy, and she had never considered jumping around. And the distance to the next car... 

Aerith was sure if she was standing on the ground, a jump like that wouldn’t phase her. But she wasn’t standing on the ground, and ideally she wouldn’t  _ land _ on the ground, either. The ground that was covered in loose rocks and old bits of discarded track in this part of the graveyard, clearly unsuited to walking. It was obvious that was why Zack had them climbing around on the trains, and Aerith herself hadn’t really thought anything of coming up here when Zack first suggested it, but now...

“It’s ok,” Zack said, a solid, comforting presence right beside her. “I’ll go first and be ready to catch you if anything happens. But it won’t. Look.” He bend a little at the knees, kind of squatting to lower his center of gravity, and swung his arms back and forth, letting his torso sway a little with the effort. “You take your time and build up some momentum and courage. And then when you’re ready,” he launched himself, quite gently, she assumed -- she was sure a SOLDIER could take a flying leap and clear the whole train car if he wanted to -- and landed neatly on the roof of the next train car. He turned to smile at her. “Just like that. Wanna try? It’s pretty fun.” 

Aerith spared a moment to be grateful to Zack for his phrasing: asking like that made it seem like she had choices, like if she said no and backed out now he would be just as happy to walk her home. And if she didn’t remind herself to be grateful, she would be frustrated with him instead, and that was no way to spend a date. 

But seriously, what kind of boyfriend suggested casual train hopping for a fun evening out? She was wearing a skirt and heels, for heaven’s sake. This was definitely neither the right wardrobe nor a normal activity. 

Well, so what if it wasn’t? Train hopping was new and exciting, and Aerith wanted to try, inappropriate attire be damned. It wasn’t like there was anyone below to look up her skirt, and despite her shoes she knew Zack would absolutely catch her if she fell. It was totally safe. 

She took a deep breath. 

“If you think it’s too far, I could move the cars closer together for you!” Zack called. 

Aerith rolled her eyes. “No thanks,” she replied dryly. He wouldn’t have brought her here if he really thought she couldn’t do it, right? She had come all the way out here, she wanted to do it herself. Besides, who knew when a skill like ledge-jumping might come in handy? Better to practice now while he was here to catch her if she needed him than try for the first time alone when it really counted. 

She squatted and pumped her arms a few times. She wasn’t entirely sure she was doing this right. Zack had said to build momentum, but the physics didn’t really make any sense, since her arms were just moving back and forth. She wasn’t building any speed or forward inertia. But somehow, the movement did make her feel a little more centered, and helped her focus on the landing ahead. It was a ridiculous, crazy thing, but somehow she felt like she could do it. 

She jumped. 

For a second, she felt like she was flying and falling at once, frightened but unable to take back what she had done. But only for a second, and then it was over, and she had landed perfectly safely in Zack’s arms on the other side, breathless and heart beating hard. It had only been a tiny little jump, but she felt nervous and jittery with success. Who knew? It was actually really fun! Aerith giggled a little hysterically in Zack’s arms, and he smiled proudly down at her. “See?” he said cheerfully, “I knew you could do it.” 

“Well I sure didn’t. And fun as it was, I’m not at all sure I’m ready to go again. Just how much further are we going? I’m not sure how many more of those jumps I’ve got in me, and we’re still going to have to get back somehow.” 

Zack pointed off into the distance, apparently indicating something Aerith couldn’t see. “We’re just headed over there,” he said. “Not far at all. Maybe three or four more jumps? If you’re up for it.” 

She noticed he didn’t say anything about their return trip, but ignored it. She wanted to focus on making fun memories, not on freaking out. If he said it was just a little farther, it was. 

Still, it sure  _ felt _ far, and she couldn’t help but counting. In the end, it was six jumps, with Zack egging her on each time and promising they were always ‘almost there.’ Each jump made Aerith relieve the fear of the first and compounded her concern about the return journey. By the time they finally climbed down off the trains, ground solid and footing firm beneath them once again, it was already getting dark. And Zack still wanted to walk a little further, gesturing vaguely in a direction that for all she knew had been chosen at random. 

Aerith followed gamely along, but she was honestly getting tired, both physically and mentally. Tseng said she was an ancient, and she knew she was different, but she didn’t ike to think about it. As far as she was concerned, she was just a regular person, and she certainly didn’t have the strength or stamina of a SOLDIER 1st. And the journey had been psychologically taxing, with her hopefully-irrational fear of being kidnapped and then the adrenaline rush from all that jumping from car to car. And for what? She was sure there wasn’t anything to see way out here except monsters and trains. 

A new thought struck her as she trudged along behind him, and she suddenly felt nervous all over again. Was Zack bringing her way out here, to this secluded spot, to... have sex? He was good looking, certainly, not that it really mattered. He had always been kind to her and treated her well, and she trusted him, even if she had doubts sometimes. She knew they were just insecurities, not really based on anything he had done to deserve them. But...

They had never done it before. They had never done much more than some kissing, honestly, and she liked that well enough. She liked it a lot, actually. But she wasn’t at all sure she was ready for more. They had never even talked about it, even a little. Aerith would definitely want to talk about it first. She considered herself a fun and interesting person, and she liked going on surprise adventures with Zack (even though with him an adventure could be something as simple as going to the market and getting your wallet stolen), but this was one adventure she wasn’t sure she was ready for. 

But if that was what he was after, why bring her way out here? There were plenty of secluded places closer to home. Unless Zack thought the Turks would interrupt them? Aerith felt her cheeks heating up, and pressed her fingers against them to cool them. How  _ awkward _ . 

And obnoxious. She had never before considered the potential of the Turks to get in the way of her exploring and her relationship however she damn well pleased, and she found she didn’t like the thought at all. Not that she particularly wanted to do... that...  _ now _ , but someday she would! And she was sure it would be stressful and embarrassing enough without having to find a way to ditch her escort. 

So maybe that was why Zack was dragging her out here. How would she turn him down? Of course she knew she could say no, but then they’d have to walk all the way back together... it would be so awkward... maybe she could suggest an alternative? They could just make out for a while, or something. 

Aerith’s head was spinning by the time Zack suddenly said, “Ok, here, stop,” at a patch of ground Aerith assumed looked just as barren and desolate as the rest of the graveyard, although truth to tell she couldn’t say for sure in the growing twilight. What was so special about here? It was so dim Aerith was worried she might turn an ankle, but otherwise there didn’t seem to be anything remarkable about it. And it certainly didn’t look like a particularly comfortable place for...

“Close your eyes,” Zack said, interrupting her runaway thoughts. 

“Why? Got something more surprising than the newly discovered sport of slum hiking hidden up your sleeve?” She was being snarky to hide her nerves, she knew, and her joke fell flat. Zack glanced meaningfully at his shoulders and then raised an eyebrow at her in response. He was wearing his SOLDIER armor, as usual, so of course he couldn’t see his bare skin beneath the pauldrons, but Aerith could. She sighed, a little exasperated. Sometimes she wasn’t sure if her boyfriend was the most literal-minded guy in the world, or just dumb. “Yes, I know you’re not wearing sleeves, but you know what I mean.” 

“Of course I do!” Zack exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips and puffing out his chest. 

Aerith laughed a little at that. He clearly had no idea what she was talking about, but his machismo sure was cute. And he didn’t seem to have noticed her odd behavior. Sometimes having a dumb boyfriend was kind of a relief. 

“Anyway, I’m serious, close your eyes for a minute,” Zack said. “I’ll be quick, I promise.” 

“I can hardly see anything as it is! And your promises are highly suspect after the trip over here.” ‘Three or four more jumps’ if you only needed to be half-right! And Zack’s concept of ‘just a little further’ was definitely way off. 

“Don’t be like that. C’mon, please?” Zack clapped his hands together and made puppy dog eyes as he cocked his head to the side. “For me?” 

“Hmm...” Aerith drew it out, considering for a moment. At this point, of course, there was no way she was really going to refuse: after the long walk, learning to jump from train car to train car, and the general mystery and suspense of the whole setup, closing her eyes for a minute was only a tiny little wish. This whole date had been so different from what they normally did, she was on the edge of her metaphorical seat waiting to find out what would happen next. But she also didn’t want to seem too eager. It was nice to have Zack work for her agreement, after all. “All right, fine,” she said finally, after she felt she’d made him wait sufficiently. She reached up to cover her face with her hands, so it would be obvious she wasn’t peeking. “Tell me when I can look.” 

She heard him move away and rustle around a bit, and then do something that produced a loud creaking noise like protesting metal that almost made her open her eyes. After what felt like forever and was definitely a lot longer than a minute, he finally said, “Ok, open,” and she drew her hands back to look around, thinking she really ought to have peeked sooner. 

Zack had covered the clearing in candles of assorted shapes and sizes. Aerith realized the strange metal sound she had heard must have been him prying open the nearest train car door, where he’d hidden all of these supplies. She couldn’t think how much trouble it must have been for him to cart all of this stuff all the way out here. It was... thoughtful. And actually, really pretty. 

She’d have thought the barren clearing wouldn’t be much improved with the better light to see it, but the soft glow of candles made the harsh surroundings a bit more welcoming, and she really liked the aesthetic. In the middle of the candles Zack had set out a large picnic blanket and a basket. He must have really put a lot of effort into this date -- her mind had run away with unpleasant possibilities, but this was actually really thoughtful. Aerith smiled at Zack, feeling suddenly cherished. And her worries about what he got up to when she wasn’t around all seemed silly now, too: Zack was absent a lot of the time and sometimes she wondered if he wouldn’t find someone else and forget about her. But when he did things like this, she knew she had nothing to fear. 

“Zack, it’s  _ beautiful,” _ she breathed, looking around in wonder. 

Zack rubbed the back of his neck bashfully. “Do you really like it?” he asked. “I know it was a bit of a hike. I found this place when I was clearing out a nest of hedgehog pies that were making things dangerous. I know it’s not much to look at, but it’s flat at least and sheltered.” He was babbling, and Aerith realized suddenly he must be nervous. Zack was usually all charming bravado, so she sometimes forgot she was his first girlfriend. It was nice to see him getting flustered. And in a way it was reassuring, too. If he was this nervous about an evening picnic, when they were finally to take things to the next level, he’d probably be just as careful and deliberate. 

“I think it’s great,” Aerith said, turning to look at him. “I’m glad you brought me here. It was a really fun adventure, coming all the way out here, and now it feels like we have our own secret base. Nobody will bother us out here.” 

Zack smiled, relieved. “That’s for sure. But don’t be coming out here without me, ok?” 

“Of course not,” Aerith agreed solemnly. It was nice to have a secret to share with someone. And maybe someday, when they were both ready, this really would turn out to be the place... “This is  _ our _ place. We’ll only come here together.” 

“It’s not that,” Zack began to reply, and Aerith couldn’t help but jump in to tease him. 

“Oh, it’s not?” she asked sweetly. Here she had thought it was so special and romantic! 

“No, I mean, that can be part of it. This place is for us. But like I said before, I found it when I was clearing out monsters before, so it might be dangerous. I know there’s always some Turks around,” Aerith grimaced, even more displeased than usual to be reminded of them after the direction of her earlier thoughts, “but I’d still worry if I thought you might be coming out here alone. You never know what could move in while we’re not looking.” 

“Got it,” Aerith said, and hugged him for good measure. In all her worries about him, it had never occurred to her that she might be making him worry, too. She mostly hung out at home, in the market, or in her church, and she considered all of those places relatively safe... but now that she thought about it, the first day she met Zack they got attacked by monsters on the way to the market. That kind of thing happened all the time, and Aerith usually ran away and thought nothing of it. That was just how things were under the plate. But for Zack, whose job it was to keep the streets safe of things like that, who knew on a professional level just how dangerous those monsters could be, it must seem like a serious hazard. 

“All right, enough suspense!” Aerith said after a moment, pulling back to look up at him. “What’s in the basket? I have to know!” 

Zack stepped back and held out a hand, and Aerith took it formally, feeling like a princess, so he could lead her over to the picnic blanket. Even though she always laughed him off when he used pet names like that, she didn’t mind being treated like someone fancy and delicate and special. 

They sat together and Zack opened the basket to show her several containers which she guessed were concealing food, plus plates and cutlery, a jug of something to drink, and some cups and napkins. He really had thought of everything. 

“Even though it’s already dark, it’s still a bit early for dinner,” Zack said, looking around. 

“That’s just how it is, this time of year,” Aerith replied, “but I, for one, worked up a bit of an appetite on the way here. So what’ve you got?” 

Quite a few things, as it turned out. Zack spread them out box by box on the blanket so they could see everything at once, and there was hardly room left to move around! Zack had packed a veritable feast, including a variety of fresh and, Aerith promptly discovered, delicious foods she had never tried or even heard of before. She figured it must have come from some place above the plate, since if there was a restaurant down here serving food like this she was sure she’d have heard of it (or Zack would have sniffed it out and taken her there). She hadn’t realized you could get restaurants to pack a picnic like this, but it was a great idea. Of course, there weren’t many places to picnic in Midgar, and fewer still under the plate, and she didn’t have many friends. But she could take her mom and a basket out into the garden, when the weather was nice. 

“Where did you get all this?” she asked, trying everything and torn over what to focus on. It was all so good! 

“I made it myself,” Zack said, nonchalant. 

“You  _ what?!” _ Aerith had no idea Zack could cook! How could she possibly have missed this? Of course, Aerith could cook, herself, but if Zack was this good she’d let him handle it and use the extra time in the garden. You know, in her fantasy future when she stopped being a Person of Interest to Shinra and Zack’s crazy schedule calmed down and the two of them were able to live together happily. 

But in the face of Aerith’s delighted surprise, Zack just shrugged. “I’m glad you like it. It’s been a while since I made anything, so I wasn’t sure how it would come out.” 

“It’s amazing!” Aerith replied. “I wish I could eat your cooking all the time. How come you’ve never cooked for me before?”

“Angeal taught me,” Zack said simply, and oh, that would explain it, all right. Aerith remembered all too clearly the many afternoons Zack had spent sobbing in the church after he got back from Modeoheim. It had been months before he got back to being his old cheerful self, and months more before Aerith stopped suspecting him of faking his smiles. It made sense that he’d want to avoid doing things that reminded him of Angeal. 

“Do you... want to talk about it?” Aerith asked tentatively, when nothing more seemed forthcoming. 

Zack sighed. “I do and I don’t. But I know if I talk about it, I’ll just feel sad and angry like always, and I don’t want to be a grouch on our date. It’s been so long since I saw you, I want to make happy memories instead of dwelling on what’s over and done with. Let’s talk about something else.” 

So they did. Aerith filled Zack in on the goings-on around the slums: the latest drama and relationship scandals, monster sightings, and of course an update on Zack’s favorite pickpocketing street urchin -- who had, as far as Aerith knew, given up pickpocketing for good this time. They avoided any further mention of Angeal, and otherwise let the conversation move organically from topic to topic, easy as it always was between them. They talked about their upcoming birthdays (his at New Year’s, hers on February 7th) and made plans to see each other as close as possible to the actual days. She asked about his family, who wrote him regularly despite how terrible he was at responding, and he asked about her mother. 

The candles burned down, and the only light was the ever-present industrial lamps on the underside of the plate. Zack flopped back on the blanket, folding his hands behind his head. Aerith observed him curiously for a moment before laying down beside him. “What’re you looking at?” she asked. 

“The lights,” Zack said. “You said before you don’t like to look at the sky, so you’ve never seen stars either, right?”

“I think I saw them when I was little, but I don’t really remember them. ...Is this what they look like?” 

“Kind of,” Zack said. “Kind of not really? You can’t see them from above the plate either, with all the smog, but I used to look at them a lot in Gongaga. The real ones aren’t so regular, they’re more scattered all over the place. But... as far as indistinct points of light distant overhead go, there are definitely similarities.” 

They lay in silence for a little while, considering. Then Aerith said, “There are a bunch of burned out ones. They kind of break up the pattern, don’t you think?” 

“Yeah,” Zack said agreeably, “you’re right. I’m pretty sure I can see some constellations, now that you mention it!” 

“Oh yeah? Where?” 

Zack pointed. “Over there, see? Looks like Goldfish.” 

Aerith laughed. “That’s not a constellation, silly!” She hadn’t spent much time looking at the night sky, of course, but there was a fortune-teller in the market who used a star chart to tell the future. Aerith had learned the names and shapes of the constellations from her, although she had never learned to read the star charts herself. She already knew her future, anyway: she would live under the Plate for as long as she could, until the Turks took her away. 

It wasn’t a future that bore much thinking about, but luckily the fortune-teller didn’t seem to know anything about it. She always gave Aerith the same silly fun nonsense that everyone else got: she was born in early February, so today she would be feeling a little off her game, but the oddness might help her accept unusual happenings in her life. Or last week she should be on the lookout for an attractive stranger, who could turn out to be a great friend or a dire enemy. (Reno had stepped on her flowers that day. She didn’t personally find him very attractive, and he was hardly a stranger, but he was definitely her enemy.) She hadn’t gotten one the week Zack turned up, but the last one before that had been “someone may be dropping into your life soon.” That one had turned out more literal than usual, if a little delayed. Most of the time she could find  _ something _ in her day that matched the horoscope, and that was what made them simultaneously enjoyable and ridiculous: they were so vague, they could mean anything. 

Anyway, the point was, she knew the constellations, and none of them were called Goldfish! 

But Zack just grinned brightly and stood his ground. “What? Of course it is! And over there is Sea Rock, and those ones there look like Cooked Running Water!” 

“You’re making these up,” Aerith accused him, dissolving into a fit of giggles. 

Zack laughed. “Well, it’s true the lights don’t really look exactly the same, but those really are constellation names. I know you use different ones on this continent, but in Gongaga we go by the same ones as Wutai.” 

“Really?” Aerith asked. “I didn’t know that.” Zack had been so many places. Aerith wondered sometimes if she would enjoy traveling, but the truth was she would probably be really scared. But maybe it would be ok, if Zack was there with her. 

“It’s true!” Zack went on. “But making up your own is fun, too.” He pointed off in a different direction. “You see that group over there, where five lights are out in a row? I call the pattern around it Flower Girl. Only lately I’ve been thinking of her as Aerith.” 

Aerith blushed. “Now you really  _ are _ being silly...” 

“Maybe, but now anytime I’m away on a mission, you can look up at those lights and think of me thinking of you.” 

It was a sweet thing to say, and Aerith cherished another tiny secret shared between them, but she felt a bit sad about the implications of what he said, too. There were probably going to be a lot of lonely times in Aerith’s future when Zack was away. But at the same time, she really did care about him and, honestly, feel kind of insecure in their relationship sometimes. She knew he cared a lot about her, and the feeling was mutual, but when she was alone and hadn’t seen him for a while she couldn’t help but think there must be prettier and more interesting girls out there for him. Their date today had gone a long way to reassuring her that wasn’t the case. 

Too soon, the time came for them to go home, and Aerith thought the feeling of going was like waking up reluctantly from a wonderful dream. Zack handled the cleanup, since he could see in the dark and was planning to stow away their picnic stuff for later retrieval. Concerned about the visibility and the difficult terrain, not to mention the potential for unpleasant encounters, he carried her home, cradled safely in his strong arms. At her request, he left her at the top of the path leading to her house: she knew the way even in the dark, and didn’t want his first time meeting her mother to be so late at night. 

As she watched him go, she wondered, as she always did, when she would see him again. She hoped it would be soon. But even if she had to wait a long time, she would always have the happy memories of their time together so far, and their little secret of the five burned out lamps amidst the Midgar stars. 

She glanced up at them again, and smiled, and wondered if maybe Zack was looking at them, too. She felt like now, as long as she was under the plate, no matter how far he went or how long he was gone, they would always be connected. It was a wonderful feeling. 

The end. 


End file.
